DIRECTED BY Martin Scorsese
STARRING Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
US 2006 152 mins.
DAISY *
DIRECTED BY Andrew Lau
STARRING Jun Ji-hyun, Jung Woo-sung, Lee Sung-jae
In Korean, with Greek subtitles.
South Korea / Hong Kong 2006 110 mins.
Once upon a time, in 2002, there was a Hong Kong film called Infernal Affairs. It was directed by Andrew Lau (hold on to that name, it’s going to turn up later), and became a humongous success. It won prizes at the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards. It spawned two sequels, and they became humongous successes. It travelled the world, turning up in the most unlikely places. It still plays quite frequently on LTV.
There’s always a temptation to assert that a remake doesn’t match the original, especially when the original is acclaimed and successful. But now Martin Scorsese has remade Infernal Affairs as The Departed, and the remake handily eclipses the original. This is a surprise, and not just because Infernal Affairs is a solid piece of work; Scorsese, long extolled as a ‘poet of violence’, has logged many hours in the world of gangsters – from Mean Streets (1973) to Goodfellas (1990) and Gangs of New York (2002) – but nowadays he’s a senior citizen more interested in film preservation and winning an Oscar than speaking the language of the streets. His last couple of films (Gangs and The Aviator (2004)) seemed overlong, their energy fading before the end.
The Departed also hits some problems in the final stretch. Its plot takes a twist and turn too many, and it’s not always plausible. Just on a basic level, it’s hard to see why gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) doesn’t work out straight away who the “rat” in his organisation is (hint: look for the New Guy who dropped in out of nowhere, and is also incidentally an ex-cop). Still, the film is riveting. If you watch a lot of films you’ll know that rare feeling when you’re watching something that works unconditionally – when you’re too caught up to take notes, or second-guess the plot, or eat your popcorn. Your whole body tenses, you block out the chattering people behind you. You follow the film in your bones. It’s a rare sensation, and The Departed delivers.
Almost all of it is due to rhythm – the rhythm of Scorsese’s direction, Thelma Schoonmaker’s jagged editing and the performers’ breezy way with some excellent dialogue. First, direction: Scorsese cross-cuts often, not just stretching scenes out but drawing connections across the cops-and-robbers divide (the film works in two parallel strands, getting its power from the ways they echo and subvert each other); he uses music extensively but keeps it low in the mix, like a beating heart. Next, editing: the cuts are often abrupt, tearing away from scenes before they end (see e.g. the bit with Costigan and his cousin talking on the front porch), keeping the viewer in a state of pleasurable – and slightly fearful – anticipation.
Then there’s the dialogue, and performances. It goes without saying that The Departed is macho – though Vera Farmiga does well as the only female character, a trusting psychiatrist used (and loved) by both sides – but Scorsese’s milieu has mostly been Italian-Americans; here he’s surrounded by Irishmen (starting with the screenwriter, William Monahan) and the banter is more mellifluous, if invariably foul-mouthed. The cops talk in insult and raillery, even when trying to be friendly. “I wanna smoke,” says Alec Baldwin, all in a rush of verbiage, “you wanna smoke no I forgot you don’t smoke what are ya one of those fitness freaks go f**k yourself!”. Mark Wahlberg gets some of the best lines, as the kind of hard-boiled cop who’s congenitally nasty yet fiercely, unthinkingly loyal. “Who the f**k are you?”
challenges someone. “I’m the guy doing his job,” sneers Wahlberg coldly; “You must be the other guy.”
Wahlberg’s role in the ending (which I won’t spoil) reinforces a possible theme in The Departed – the theme of class, working-class solidarity, which is also a function of Family. Matt Damon, as the “rat” in the police force, has ideas above his station; he moves into a flat which (according to the estate agent) will make him “upper-class by next Tuesday”. Leonardo DiCaprio as his mirror-image – the “rat” among the gangsters – spent his whole childhood seesawing from working-class to middle-class as he shuttled between his divorced parents. Both these men are confused about themselves, because they’re unsure about their class. Cops and robbers, on the other hand, are communities – more than that, they’re families, their leaders depicted as father-figures. Martin Sheen, as Leo’s superior, welcomes him into his house, shows him photos of his son and offers him dinner. As for the crooks’ reprobate ‘father’ … well, that’s Jack Nicholson.
We need to talk about Jack. Some people love his Frank Costello, and some people think it wrecks the movie. What’s undeniable is that Scorsese – like many of his previous directors – indulges him, having him laugh at priests and stand beside hellfire-red backgrounds to stress his ‘demonic’ side (it’s like Witches of Eastwick (1987) all over again). What’s also undeniable is that Nicholson is a ham, and not my favourite part of The Departed. But he’s also something more, a senior citizen (now pushing 70) who hasn’t lost his energy and zest – in other words, exactly like Scorsese, and it’s understandable that the film lets him loose, basking in his radiance, two old men showing they’ve still got what it takes. After the frustration of his last few films, a great (if erratic) director has found his form, and his subject, and a kindred spirit.
But what about Andrew Lau? You remember him, the guy who made the original Infernal Affairs – and has now made Daisy which, by some strange coincidence, hit Cyprus cinemas on the same day as The Departed. I actually saw them in a double-bill, which I’m sure hurt this slow-paced little movie, as contemplative and wannabe-ethereal as the Scorsese is propulsive. Alas, I’m pretty sure it’d come off as a dozy, leaden romantic drama at the best of times.
One wants to support Daisy, if only to support the fact that things are changing. Never before have I reviewed two Korean films in consecutive weeks – and this one at the multiplex, where foreign films are conspicuous by their absence. But it makes no sense to show this Korean film, soporific and self-consciously ‘sensitive’, when so many others are closer to the tastes of the multiplex audience (try The Host, or Silmido). All it does is prejudice people – especially young people – against these films, making it even harder for them to find an audience.
Daisy is a kind of love triangle, where the heroine misjudges the hero and falls in love with the wrong man. The hero’s an assassin, allowing gratuitous bursts of violence, and breaks off one of their dates to go kill some people (he comes back with a bouquet of flowers) – but the film is mostly melodrama, and tries the patience, especially in the second half when the girl loses her voice so she mostly casts wounded glances and weeps on the inside. I tried to be supportive, but only ended up with impertinent questions: Do Interpol cops carry Interpol cards in their wallets? Why doesn’t the heroine stand outside and wait for the flower-delivery man, so she can find out more about her secret admirer? Why does a poster for an exhibition taking place on April 15 say 4/15 (not 15/4), if the film is set in Holland?
When you start asking those kinds of questions, the game is lost – unless a director can somehow show enough verve to make plausibility irrelevant. Lau doesn’t do that here, coming off as a pale imitation of fellow Hong Kong
-er Wong Kar-wai. He did it (more or less) in Infernal Affairs, but even that achievement has now been superseded. As Alec Baldwin might put it: “Chinese cops? Go f**k yourself!”.
NEW DVD RELEASES
Here’s our regular look at the more interesting titles released on DVD in the US and UK over the past few weeks. Some may be available to rent from local video clubs, or you can always order over the Internet: dozens of suppliers, but http://www.amazon.com (for US) and http://www.play.com (for UK) are among the most reliable, if not necessarily the cheapest. Note that US discs are ‘Region 1’, and require a multi-region player.
NEW FILMS
WAH-WAH: Richard E. Grant (of ‘Withnail and I’ fame) turns director for this autobiographical semi-comic tale of a Rhodesian childhood. Extras include interviews and a Making Of. [UK]
REGULAR LOVERS: Obviously I’m not going to sit here and recommend a 3-hour (!), black-and-white (!!) French film to everyone, but this elegy for the Spirit of ’68 really is one of the best foreign films of the past few years – if only for the magical scene set to The Kinks’ “This Time Tomorrow”. Extras include a Venice Film Festival conference with director Philippe Garrel. [UK]
JU-ON: THE GRUDGE 2: Not actually new, but the US remake comes to cinemas soon so you may as well catch up with the Japanese original from 2003; lavish 2-disc package includes featurettes, deleted scenes and more. [UK]
OLD FILMS
THE ASTAIRE AND ROGERS COLLECTION, VOLUME 2: Rejoice! Five more gems from Fred and Ginger, the screen’s greatest dance team, highlights including ‘Flying Down to Rio’ (1933), ‘The Gay Divorcee’ (1934) – featuring their greatest romantic dance, to Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’ – and ‘Roberta’ (1935). All films come with contemporary trailers, shorts and cartoons, all are available individually. Also available in an “Astaire and Rogers Ultimate Collector’s Edition” which includes the five Astaire and Rogers films on Volume 1, released a couple of years ago. Around $45 from most online retailers, plus shipping. [US]
THE FOX AND THE HOUND (1981): “25th Anniversary Edition” for second-tier Disney cartoon, still quite charming. Paltry extras include a “forest friendship” game, trailers and a 2-minute sing-along song. [US]
REDS (1981): Another “25th Anniversary Edition” for a much better film: Warren Beatty’s Oscar-winning biography of American communist John Reed, starring himself and Diane Keaton. Extras include 7-part “Witness to ‘Reds’” documentary. [US]
THE TONY HANCOCK COLLECTION: Legendary 60s comedian made just two films – ‘The Rebel’ (1961) and ‘The Punch and Judy Man’ (1962) – and neither is much good, but fans will want them nonetheless. Transfers are apparently disappointing, but extras include commentary by Hancock writers Galton and Simpson. [UK]
